Late-Night Fire Breaks Out at Grants Pass Sonic Drive-In

Oil-soaked rags burst into flames, growing into a 'small structure fire,' according to firefighters.

Posted: Dec. 14, 2018 12:16 PM

Posted By: Jamie Parfitt

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Firefighters put out a structure fire at the Sonic Drive-In restaurant in Grants Pass after midnight in the early hours of Friday morning, according to the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety (GPDPS).

Grants Pass Fire-Rescue received the call just after 1:30 a.m. after reports of a structure fire. When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found smoke filling the restaurant.

"The engine company forced entry and advanced a hose-line to quickly extinguish a small fire inside the structure," GPDPS said in a statement.

Damage from the fire did not prove extensive — limited, as it was, to an electrical panel and outlet. As a precaution, an additional engine company went up to the roof to make sure that the flames did not spread.

Investigators determined that the fire started from the "spontaneous combustion" of oil-soaked rags, according to GPDPS.

"Grants Pass citizens are to be reminded of safe practices of oily rag disposal, utilizing a metal container with a tight lid," GPDPS said.